A  PLAY  BY 


Booth  Tarkington 


The 

GHOST  STORY 

WALTER    H.    BAKER    CO.,    BOSTON 


No.  1 
APPLETON  LITTLE  THEATRE  PLAYS 

Edited  by  Grace  Adams 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


:     BOOTH   TARKINGTON     : 


Special  edition  printed  for 

Walter  H.  Baker  Co., 

The  Play  Shop 

Boston,  Mass. 


COPYRIGHT,  1922,  BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 
All  rights  reserved 


The  professional  stage  rights  of  this  play  are  reserved  by  the  Author. 
The  amateur  stage  rights  are  held  by  The  Ladies  Home  Journal.  For 
permission  to  produce  the  play  applications  should  be  made  by  pro- 
fessional producers  to  Mr.  Booth  Tarkington,  Indianapolis,  Indiana, 
and  by  amateur  producers  to  the  Ladies  Home  Journal. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


THE  PERSONS 

GEORGE,  an  earnest  young  gentleman  of  22. 
ANNA,  a  pretty,  young  girl  of  20. 
MARY- 


GRACE 


Three  girls  of  19  or  20. 


LENNIE 

TOM 

FLOYD 

LYNN       |  F°ur  youths  of  about  the  same. 

FRED      j 
HOUSEMAID. 


NOTE.— Upon  the  program  it  should  be  mentioned  that  the 
curtain  will  be  lowered  for  a  moment  during  the  progress  of  the 
play  to  denote  a  lapse  of  about  half  an  hour. 


THE  GHOST  STORY 

The  rise  of  the  curtain  discloses  a  comfortable  and 
pleasant  living-room  of  commonplace  type.  It  is 
early  evening;  a  clock  on  the  mantelpiece  marks 
the  time  as  twenty  minutes  after  seven;  the  lamps 
are  lit.  At  a  piano  is  seated  a  pretty  girl  of 
twenty;  she  plays  dance  music  gayly  for  a  few 
moments;  then  abruptly  her  theme  becomes  senti- 
mental and  she  plays  a  love  song,  singing  bits  of 
it  to  herself,  while  her  expression  becomes  tender 
and  wistful. 

An  electric  bell  is  heard,  and  upon  this  sound  she 
stops  singing  and  playing  at  once;  her  look  is 
alert.  She  considers  the  room  thoughtfully,  then 
goes  to  a  chair  beside  a  little  table,  picks  up  a 
small  leather-bound  book,  sits  and  pretends  to 
read  with  dreamy  absorption.  Then,  behind  her, 
across  the  room,  a  door  is  opened,  offering  a 
glimpse  of  a  hallway,  where  a  nervous  and  earnest 
young  gentleman  of  twenty-two  is  hastily  conclud- 
ing the  removal  of  his  heavy  overcoat  and  gloves, 
with  the  connivance  of  a  housemaid.  He  comes 
into  the  living-room  immediately.  With  an  air  of 
complete  surprise  the  girl  looks  up  from  her  pre- 
tended reading. 

THE  GIRL 

Why,  George—     (She  rises.) 
GEORGE  (as  the  housemaid  closes  the  door) 
Anna,  I  came  early  because — 
7 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


ANNA  (as  they  shake  hands  and  sit) 

I'm  so  flattered.  I  didn't  dream  you'd  do  more 
than  just  call  me  up  to  say  good-by. 

GEORGE 

You  didn't  think  I'd  come  .myself? 

ANNA 

Why,  no.  I  didn't  think  you'd  have  time;  you 
have  to  make  good-by  calls  on  all  your  aunts 
and  married  sisters  and  cousins,  don't  you? 
I'm  really  very  much  flattered. 

GEORGE 

I  came  early,  as  soon  as  I  could  choke  down 
dinner  and  run,  because — well,  I  wanted  to 
talk  to  you  alone  for  a  few  minutes  for  a  novelty. 
I  thought  maybe  just  this  once  I  could  get 
here  before  the  rest  of  'em  pile  in. 

ANNA 

"The  rest  of  'em?"  I  don't  know  that  any  of 
'em  will  "pile  in"  this  evening,  George. 

GEORGE 

No,  you  never  do;  but  they  pile  in,  just  the 
same.  That's  the  trouble  with  you,  Anna; 
you're  too  popular.  (She  laughs  protestingly. 
He  goes  on  earnestly.)  Oh,  yes,  you  are.  It's 
horrible! 

ANNA 

What  nonsense! 
GEORGE 

It's  the  truth;  it's  just  horrible  for  a  girl  to  be 
like  you. 

ANNA 

Thanks! 

8 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE  (emphatically) 

It  is.  Nobody  can  ever  get  within  a  mile  of 
you.  And  what  I  hate  about  it  is  that  girls 
hang  around  you  just  as  much  as  the  rest  of 
us  do. 

ANNA  (demurely) 

You  think  it's  queer  that  girls  like  me, 
George  ? 

GEORGE 

It  isn't  "queer,"  no.  (Adds  in  a  burst  of  con- 
fidence.) But  it's  been  pretty  painful  to  me 
these  holidays. 

ANNA  (staring) 

What  are  you  talking  about? 

GEORGE 

Well,  that's  what  I  came  early  to  tell  you. 

ANNA 

You  came  early  to  tell  me  what  you're  talking 
about  ? 

GEORGE  (a  little  confused) 

What  I  mean  to  say — listen;  it's  just  this: 
I— I— I— 

ANNA  (reminding  him) 

You  began  by  saying  it's  horrible  that  any- 
body seems  able  to  stand  me. 

GEORGE 

It's  horrible  that  I  always  have  to  see  you  in  a 
crowd;  that's  what  I  mean.  If  there  aren't 
four  or  five  men  around  you,  then  there  are 
four  or  five  girls;  and  if  there  aren't  just  four 
or  five  girls,  or  four  or  five  men,  then  there  are 
four  or  five  of  both  of  'em ! 
9 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


ANNA 

But  look,  George.    Look  under  the  piano,  and 
under  the  chairs,  and  under — 
GEORGE 
What  for? 

ANNA 

For    all    those   people   you   said   were    always 
around  me.     It's  queer,  but  you  do  seem  to 
me  to  be  the  only  one  here. 
GEORGE 

Yes,  just  this  minute.  But  you  know  as  well 
as  I  do  that  pretty  soon  the  bell  will  begin 
ringing,  and  they'll  come  pouring  in.  Then 
when  they're  here  they  stay  and  stay  and  stay 
and—  Why,  it  is  horrible! 

ANNA 

Aren't  you  a  funny  boy! 

GEORGE 

I  wish  I  could  see  any  fun  in  it!  (He  rises  and 
paces  the  floor  as  he  talks.)  Why,  I  believe  if 
I'd  known  it  was  going  to  be  like  this  I  wouldn't 
have  come  home  for  the  holidays.  You  don't 
know  how  I  looked  forward  to  coming  home 
and — and  seeing  you!  Why,  I've  hardly 
thought  of  anything  else,  all  the  fall  term! 

ANNA  (incredulously) 

You  don't  mean  you  thought  of  it  during  the 
football  season? 

GEORGE 

No.  I  mean  yes.  Yes,  I  was  looking  forward 
to  it  even  then,  too.  I  kept  thinking:  "Just 
wait  till  the  Christmas  holidays  come;  then  I'll 
get  to  see  a  whole  lot  of  Anna.  I'll  get  to 
10 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


dance  with  her  a  lot,  to  take  her  to  a  lot  of 
things — maybe,  even,  I'll  get  some  evenings 
alone  with  her  by  the  fire,  and  we'll  read  some 
poetry  or  something  together."  That's  what 
I  thought!  (He  laughs  bitterly.)  And  look 
what's  happened!  You  were  booked  up  solid 
for  every  last  little  thing  a  person  could  hope 
to  take  you  to!  I've  never  got  once  clear 
around  with  you  a  single  time  you've  danced 
with  me — some  frenzied  bird  always  cut  in— 
and  every  afternoon  or  evening  I've  found  you 
at  home  I've  had  to  sit  about  seventeen  rows 
back  and  just  be  audience  for  the  bickering 
that  went  on.  And  now  it's  my  last  evening; 
my  train  leaves  at  nine-fifty-one,  and  I  won't 
see  you  again  till  June,  after  commencement; 
and  I  know  I'm  not  going  to  get  a  chance  to 
talk  to  you  five  minutes!  Some  of  these  birds'll 
be  breaking  in  here  any  second.  That's  why 
it's  horrible! 

ANNA 

But  they  haven't  broken  in  yet,  George. 

GEORGE 

Yes,  but  they  will! 

ANNA  (shyly) 

Well,  but  if  you — if  you  do  like  being  alone 
with  me,  why  don't  you — well,  why  don't  you 
just  like  it  until  they  do  come? 

GEORGE 

"Like  it?"    You  don't  seem  to  realize  my  train 
is  the  nine-fifty-one,  and  I'll  have  to  leave  here 
at  least  half  an  hour  before  then;  and  I'll  have 
ii 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


to  say  good-by  to  you  with  people  around,  so 
I  cant  say  what  I  want  to! 

ANNA 

But  what  is  it  you  want  to  say  to  me — except 
just  good-by? 

GEORGE 

Well,  it's  something  I  couldn't  say  with  people 
around. 

ANNA  (nervously) 

But — but  there  aren't  any  people  around  now, 
George. 

GEORGE  (shaking  his  head  gloomily) 

Oh,  there  would  be,  before  I  could  say  it! 
I  know  'em! 

ANNA  (noncommital) 
Well- 

GEORGE  (taking  a  chair  near  her  suddenly) 

Anna,  it's  just  this.  I  want  you  to  understand 
the  position  I'm  in.  I  want  you  to  understand 
what  I — what  I  have  in  mind.  (Breaking  off 
abruptly  in  a  tone  of  abysmal  despair.)  But 
what's  the  use?  Some  of  'em  are  sure  to  come 
in.  Couldn't  you  send  word  you're  not  at 
home? 

ANNA 

Well,   you   see,   Lennie   Cole   and  Tom   Ban- 
nister and  Mary  and  Grace  and  Fred — 
GEORGE 

I  knew  it !  And  you  said  you  didn't  know  they'd 
be  piling  in! 

ANNA 

I  don't — not  precisely,  that  is.     But — but,  of 
course    it's    possible.      And    they'd    certainly 
12 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


know  it  wasn't  so  if  I  sent  word  "not  at  home," 

and  they'd  feel  hurt. 
GEORGE  (despairingly) 

That's  it!     That's  my  regular  luck  with  you! 

Isn't  there  any  way  to  get  rid  of  'em? 
ANNA  (seemingly  reproachful) 

They  are  friends  of  mine,  you  know,  George. 
GEORGE  (despondently) 

Pardon  me. 

ANNA 

Very  well. 

GEORGE 

Listen.     What  I  was  saying — 

ANNA  (quickly) 
Yes,  George? 

GEORGE  (speaking  hurriedly) 

I  wanted  to  tell  you,  I  have  been  looking  for- 
ward to  the  holidays  because  I  thought  this 
would  be  the  time  I'd  be — ah — justified,  as  it 
were,  in  saying  something  I — something  I  had 
in  mind  to  say  to  you. 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 
GEORGE 

I've  had  it  in  my  mind  to  say  ever  since — well, 
for  quite  a  time — ever  since — ever  since — 

ANNA 

Is  it  something  about  your  studies,  George? 
GEORGE 

No,  it  certainly  isn't.  It's  about — well,  I've 
wanted  to  say  it — ah — a  long  time. 

ANNA 

How  long? 

13 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE 

Ever  since — well,  it  was  that  day  you  wore  a 
blue  dress. 

ANNA 

What  sort  of  a  blue  dress  ? 
GEORGE 

I  don't  know.    It  was — it  was  blue. 

ANNA 

With  flounces?    And  lace  on  the  blouse? 
GEORGE 

I  don't  know.    It  was  just — sort  of  blue. 

ANNA 

But  I  haven't  had  a  blue  dress  this  year. 

GEORGE 

No.     It  wasn't  this  year. 

ANNA 

Why,  the  last  time  I  wore  a  blue  dress  was  that 
summer  at  the  lake,  three  years  ago. 

GEORGE 

Yes.  That  was  when  it  was.  You  wore  it  the 
day  we  went  canoeing  for  water  lilies.  That 
was  the  day  it  happened. 

ANNA 

The  day  what  happened? 
GEORGE 

The  day  you  wore  the  blue  dress. 

ANNA 

Oh,  yes. 

GEORGE 

Yes.     It  was  then. 

(Both  of  them  are  very  serious?) 
14 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


ANNA 

Yes.  That  one  was  blue  linen,  and  very  simple. 
It  was  another  one  that  had  flounces — with  lace 
on  the  blouse. 

GEORGE 

Well — ever  since  then  I've  thought  that  some 
day  I  might  feel  that  I  was  in  a — well,  in  a 
position  to — to  justify — ah — what  I'd  like  to 
say.  You  see,  I — well,  I  was  pretty  young 
then;  we  both  were,  in  fact. 

ANNA 

Yes,  I  suppose  we  were. 

GEORGE 

Yes.  I  suppose  I  hardly  realized  how  young  I 
was  at  the  time.  Funny,  isn't  it?  I  thought  I 
was  a  real  grown-up  man  of  the  world,  and  I 
was  only  nineteen!  Looking  back  on  it  over 
these  years  a  person  sees  how  much  he  had 
still  to  learn!  My  goodness!  When  I  think 
of  all  I've  been  through  since  then— 

ANNA 

You  mean  at  college? 
GEORGE 

Yes,  and  here  at  home,  too — like  what  I've 
been  through  these  holidays,  for  instance. 

ANNA 

Have  you?  Why,  I  thought  you  looked  so 
well,  George. 

GEORGE 

I  mean  not  getting  near  you.  You  know. 
What  I  was  talking  about. 

ANNA 

But  that  couldn't  be  very  severe,  George. 
15 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE 

Yes,  it  could,  because  it  was.  Anna,  my 
father  stopped  off  a  day  to  see  me  at  college 
in  October — 

ANNA 

How  nice! 

GEORGE 

We  had  a  pretty  serious  talk  about  my  future. 

ANNA 

Oh,  I'm  sorry  it  was  serious,  George. 

GEORGE 

What  I  mean — it  was  business-like.  About  my 
future  in  business. 

ANNA  (somewhat  vaguely) 
Oh,  yes. 

GEORGE 

Next  June,  when  I  get  home,  he's  going  to 
take  me  right  in  with  him.  He  thinks — well, 
he  thinks  I'll  get  along  all  right.  He — he's 
going  to  give  me  a  ten-per-cent  interest  in  the 
business,  Anna. 

ANNA 

How  lovely! 
GEORGE  (swallowing) 

So  that's — that's  why  I  said  I  feel — ah — justified 
— in  saying  what  I  want  to  get  a  chance  to — to 
say  to  you,  Anna. 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 
GEORGE 

What  I  mean — I  mean  that's  why  I'm  sure  to 
have  sufficient  means  to — to  settle  down,  as  it 
were — and  so  I — I  thought — I — 
16 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


ANNA 

Yes,  George? 

GEORGE 

You  see,  that  day  you  wore  the  blue  dress  I 
was  only  nineteen,  and  I  hadn't  had  this  talk 
with  my  father,  because,  in  fact,  I  never  did 
have  this  talk  with  him  until  just  this  October 
— as  it  were — and  so — and  so — 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 
GEORGE  (solemn  but  increasingly  nervous) 

And  so — well,  the  time  has  come — the  time  has 

come — 
ANNA  (glancing  over  her  shoulder  at  the  hall  door) 

The  time  has  come?    Yes,  George? 

GEORGE 

The  time  has  come  when  I — when  I  want  to 
ask  you  if — if — if — the  time  has  come — it's 
come — it's  come — 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 

(The  bell  rings  loudly.) 

GEORGE  (leaping  to  his  feet) 

I  knew  it!  I  knew  they'd  come  piling  in  here 
just  the  instant  I —  (He  turns  up-stage,  clasp- 
ing his  brow.)  Oh,  my  heavens!  I  knew  it! 

ANNA 

Oh! 

(The  door  into  the  hall  is  opened  by  the  house- 
maid^ and  two  girls  of  nineteen  or  twenty  are  re- 
vealed^ divesting  themselves  of  outer  wraps.     They 
17 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


at  once  come  hurrying  gay  I y  down  to  Anna,  greeting 
her  with  a  jumble  of  words  and  laughter •,  to  which 
she  contributes  in  like  manner,  as  they  exclaim: 
"We  just  thought  we'd  frolic  over  to  see  you, 
old  thing,"  and  "Nothing  doing  at  our  house, 
so  we  thought  we'd  see  if  you  knew  anything." 
Anna  responds  simultaneously ',  "Just  lovely  of 
you!  We  were  just  hoping  you'd  take  it  into 
your  heads  to  drop  in.  How  nice  of  you!" 
and  so  forth.  The  newcomers  greet  George  with 
"Hello,  George.") 

GEORGE  (res-ponds  pessimistically) 

Howdy-do,  Mary.    Howdy-do,  Grace. 

ANNA 

George  just  dropped  in  to  say  good-by. 

MARY 

Gracious!    Hope  we're  not  interfering. 
GEORGE  (feebly) 

Oh,  no.     Not  at  all! 
ANNA  (laughing) 

Why,  of  course  not! 

(The  bell  rings.) 

GEORGE 

Oh,  my  goodness!     Here's  some  more! 
GRACE  (reproachfully) 

College   English,   George?     Don't   they   teach 

you  to  say  "Here  are  more"? 
GEORGE  (with  gloomy  absent-mindedness) 

Yes,  there  certainly  are!     I  knew  it! 

(The  hall  door  opens  to  admit  five  more  lively 
young  people:  a  girl  and  four  youths.     The  girl's 
18 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


name — it  appears  during  the  ensuing  greetings — 
is  LENNIE,  and  the  young  gentlemen  are  known 
to  those  present  as  TOM,  FLOYD,  LYNN,  and 
FRED.  They  chatter  phrases  and  half  sentences 
of  greeting  all  together  for  a  few  moments •,  though 
George  takes  only  a  pessimistic  and  fragmentary 
part  in  the  ceremonies;  then  Lennie  shouts  louder 
than  any  of  the  others  and  obtains  a  hearing^) 

LENNIE 

But  what  are  we  going  to  do?  We  aren't  just 
going  to  sit  around  and  talk,  are  we? 

MARY 

Let's  all  go  somewhere. 

SEVERAL  OF  THE  OTHERS 

Well,  where?  Where  is  there  to  go?  Where 
do  you  want  to  go? 

LENNIE 

Well,  most  anywhere. 

GEORGE 

That's  a  sensible  idea. 
MARY 

Where  do  you  say  to  go,  Anna? 

ANNA 

I?    Oh,  nowhere.    I  thought  I  wouldn't  go  out 

to-night. 
GRACE 

All  right,  then;  we'll  stay  here. 
CHORUS 

Well,   why   not?      Might    as   well    be   here   as 

anywhere.      Yes,    let's    take    it    easy    for    one 

night.     (And  so  forth?) 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


LENNIE 

Well,  what's  the  matter  with  our  shaking  the 
hoof  a  while?    Turn  on  that  phonograph,  some- 
body.    (She  grasps  the  youth  Floyd.) 
CHORUS 

That's  it!  Come  on,  then!  We  can  dance 
here's  well's  anywhere!  Tune  her  up,  George! 

(They  prepare  to  dance;  Anna  is  seized  upon, 
and,  in  the  pairing  of  couples,  the  gloomy  George 
finds  himself  the  odd  person,  excluded.) 

CHORUS 

Start  the  instrument,  George!  George,  you're 
the  band!  Why  don't  you  tune  up,  George? 

(George  starts  the  phonograph,  which  stands  in  a 
corner  of  the  room.  The  others  dance,  chattering. 
George  goes  to  the  fireplace  and  compares  his 
watch  with  the  clock  on  the  mantel  shelf.  Then 
he  produces  a  camper  s  pocketknife,  opens  out  of 
it  a  small  screwdriver,  and  returns  to  the  phono- 
graph with  an  air  of  determination.  Glancing 
over  his  shoulder  and  assuring  himself  that  the 
dancers  are  too  busy  to  observe  him,  he  busily  sets 
to  work  upon  the  mechanism  of  the  phonograph. 
Meanwhile  the  others  begin  to  sing  loudly  and 
gayly  the  air  played  by  the  record,  all  oblivious 
of  George's  energetic  destructiveness.  The  record 
falters;  then  it  begins  to  make  peculiar  sounds.) 

CHORUS  (not  pausing  in  the  dance) 

Why,  gracious!     What's  the  matter  with  the 
music?    Is  that  instrument  sick?    Sounds  like 
cholera  morbus!     (And  so  forth.) 
20 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


FLOYD  (shouting) 

Put  on  another  record,  George.  What's  the 
matter  with  the  thing,  anyhow? 

GEORGE  (moving  hastily  away  from  the  phonograph) 
I  don't  know.    Is  something  wrong? 

CHORUS 

Can't  you  fix  it?  Put  on  another  record!  Do 
something! 

GEORGE 

Well,  I'll  see.  (He  puts  a  hand  under  the  lid  of 
the  phonograph;  there  is  instantly  a  clatter •,  and 
the  music  stops.  So  do  the  dancers?) 

CHORUS 

What  is  the  matter?  Why  don't  you  fix  it? 
Why  don't  you — 

GEORGE 

Something  seems  to  be  the  matter  with  it. 

GRACE 

Well,  hurry  and  fix  it. 

GEORGE 

I  don't  believe  I— 

LYNN  (looking  under  the  lid) 
Well,  no;  I  don't  believe  you  could!  (He  takes 
from  under  the  lid  the  metal  arm  and  detached 
sound  box  of  the  instrument?)  Why,  it  would 
take  Edison  himself  to  put  this  phonograph 
together  again — it's  all  fallen  apart! 

CHORUS 

Goodness!  Why,  just  look  at  it!  Well,  of  all 
the  disappointing—  Oh,  my,  how  silly  of  it! 
(And  so  forth.) 

21 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


TOM 

That's    all    the    dancing    you'll    do    to-night, 
ladies ! 
MARY 

But   you're   men.     Why   don't   some   of  you 
fix  it? 
LYNN  (singing) 

Humpty  Dumpty  sat  on  a  wa/!y 
Humpty  Dumpty  had  a  great  fall— 
GRACE 

Oh,  do  hush.     Why  don't  you  fix  it? 
FLOYD  and  LYNN  (singing  together) 

All  the  king's  horses  and  all  the  king's  men 
Couldn't  put  Humpty  together  again! 

(They  execute  a  few  clog  steps  by  way  of  con- 
clusion.) 

MARY  (sinking  into  a  chair) 
How  tiresome! 

FLOYD  and  LYNN 

Thanks,  lady! 
GRACE  (sitting) 

Well,  what  are  we  going  to  do? 
FRED 

Let's  play   Button,   Button!     Who's  Got  the 

Button? 
LENNIE  (sitting) 

Do  hush! 
GEORGE  (earnestly) 

Well,  I  can't  think  of  any  way  you  could  amuse 

yourselves.     Strikes  me  this  would  be  a  great 

night  for  everybody  to  go  home  and  get  some 

sleep. 

22 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


TOM 

I  thought  you  had  to  start  back  to  college 
tonight. 

GEORGE 

I  do.     I  meant  everybody  else. 
TOM 

What's  the  matter  with  you,  George?    I  mean 

with  your  mind. 
GEORGE 

Nothing.     I  only  meant — 

GRACE 

Oh,  do  hush!  Can't  anybody  think  of  some- 
thing we  could  do? 

GEORGE 

No.     Not  a  thing. 

MARY 

We  could  play  charades. 

GEORGE 

Charades?     They're  terrible. 
GRACE  (with  a  shrug) 

Well,  let's  just  sit  around  and  talk,  then. 
GEORGE 

Oh,  murder,  no! 

ANNA 

Well,  what  do  you  want  to  do,  George? 

GEORGE  (hastily) 

Well,  I  want  to—  (He  checks  himself.)  I  was 
just  trying  to  think.  It  does  seem  a  great 
night  to  go  home  and  sleep. 

FLOYD  (finishing  a  consultation  with  Fred) 
Why,  of  course.     We've  got  enough  for  two 
tables,  with  George  left  over.     He  has  to  go 
pretty  soon,  anyhow,  so  he  needn't  play. 
23 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE  (uneasily) 

I  needn't  play  what? 
FLOYD  (smilingly) 

Bridge.    We've  got  just  enough  for  two  tables 

without  you. 
CHORUS 

That's   it!     Of  course!     Bridge!     We'll   play 

bridge  till  midnight.     That's  splendid!     (And 

so  forth.) 

(As  they  chatter  they  begin  to  clear  two  tables  for 
cards.) 

GEORGE 

No!    For  heaven's  sake — 

CHORUS 

Anna,  where  are  the  cards?  Get  some  counters 
and  pencils.  Who's  going  to  be  my  partner? 
Who's  going  to  be  mine? 

GEORGE  (shouting) 

No!  Stop  it!  My  goodness!  Don't  you  ever 
get  tired  of  doing  the  same  thing  night  after 
night?  Just  because  you  can't  dance  you  don't 
have  to  play  bridge,  do  you?  Stop  it!  (He  is 
so  vehement  that  he  commands  their  attention; 
they  pause  in  arrested  attitudes.) 

FLOYD 

Well,  what's  your  idea?  What  do  you  think 
we'll  like  better? 

GEORGE  (desperately) 

Well,  let's — let's — let's — I'll  tell  you  what  let's 
do:  let's  tell  ghost  stories. 
24 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


CHORUS  (dismally) 

Oh,  my!    Why,  how  silly!    Of  all  the  foolish — 
(And  so  forth.) 

(They  turn  to  the  tables  again.) 

GEORGE 

Wait!  I'll  tell  you  a  ghost  story.  I'll  show 
you  if  it's  silly  or  not!  I'll  tell  you  a  ghost  story 
that  the  first  time  it  was  told  in  college  every- 
body got  so  nervous  that — well,  some  of  'em 
couldn't  stand  it. 
FRED 

What  did  they  do? 

GEORGE 

Well,  they — they  got  so  nervous  they — they — 
FLOYD  (skeptically) 

Had  to  go  right  home  to  bed,  did  they? 
GEORGE 

Well,  never  mind.    Let's  see  what  you  do. 
MARY 

I'd  like  to  hear  the  ghost  story  that  would 

make  me  nervous! 

ANNA 

Let's  see  if  he  can.     Shall  we  all  sit  down, 
George  ? 

GEORGE 

Yes;  all  of  you  please  sit  down.  (They  take 
chairs,  smiling  to  one  another  and  whispering 
skeptically  as  he  goes  on.)  And  we  don't  want 
so  much  light;  just  this  lamp'll  do.  I'll  make 
it  dimmer.  (He  ties  his  handkerchief  about  the 
bulb  of  a  lamp  on  a  table.)  The  way  to  feel  a 
story  like  this  is  to  think  about  it  almost  in 
25 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


the  dark.  (He  shuts  of  the  other  lights  at  a 
switch  upon  the  wall,  leaving  only  the  vague  illu- 
mination of  the  dimmed  lamp  on  the  table?) 

CHORUS  (incredulous ,  satirical,  and  giggling) 

Goodness,  ain't  it  creepy!  Why,  George,  how 
can  you  be  so  dramatic?  How  turrabill!  Oh, 
Georgie,  Georgie !  (And  so  forth.) 

GEORGE  (assuming  a  husky  voice) 

Listen,  I  tell  you.  (He  stands  by  the  dimmed 
lamp  so  that  his  face  is  vaguely  seen  above  the 
triangular  patch  of  light  made  by  the  lamp  shade?) 

FLOYD 

Well,  go  on.     We're  listening. 
GEORGE  (impressively  husky) 

This  is  a  true  story.  It  happened  in  a  house  a 
little  way  out  in  the  country  from  Wilmington, 
Delaware. 

A  SATIRIC  VOICE 

Wilmington,  Delaware?  My  goodness,  how 
fearful !  Delaware ! 

ANOTHER  VOICE 

Give  the  poor  thing  a  chance. 

GEORGE 

It  was  just  fourteen  years  ago  this  winter,  and 
the  facts  are  known  by  pretty  near  everybody 
in  Wilmington.  If  you  ask  almost  anybody 
from  Wilmington  about  it  he'll  tell  you  it's  so. 
Well,  this  house  was  an  old  frame  house;  it 
was  long  and — and — 
A  VOICE 

Rambling.     Long  and  rambling,  George. 

GEORGE 

Yes,  it  is;  it's  long  and  rambling.     That  is,  it 
26 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


was;  because  after  what  I'm  going  to  tell  you 
happened  to  it,  why,  it  had  to  be  torn  down. 
Of  course  after  that  nobody  would  live  in  it. 
But  fourteen  years  ago  an  old  man  lived  there; 
he  lived  there  all  alone.  After  dark  nobody 
ever  saw  a  light  in  that  house,  and — and  nobody 
knew  anything  about  the  old  man  except  that 
he  used  to  kill  any  cat  that  happened  to  come 
in  his  yard.  The  neighbors  watched  one  night, 
and  they  heard  a  cat  meowing  under  a  bush, 
and  they  saw  the  dim  figure  of  this  old  man 
creeping  and  creeping  toward  the  bush.  Then 
they  heard  the  cat  give  a  kind  of  terrible 
scream,  and  they  saw  the  old  man  capering 
around  and  wringing  this  cat's  neck — just  like 
a  chicken's  neck!  Now,  this  old  man — 

A  GIRL'S  VOICE  (impressed) 
It  is  fairly  creepy. 

A  YOUNG  MAN'S  VOICE  (also  rather  impressed) 
Well,  go  on,  George. 

GEORGE 

This  old  man  never  went  out  in  the  daytime. 
No  one  ever  saw  just  what  he  looked  like,  ex- 
cept that  he  had  long,  scraggly  white  hair,  and 
his  complexion  was  a  horrible  kind  of  fishy- 
white  color.  But  night  after  night  the  neigh- 
bors would  see  him  prowling  among  the  bushes 
and  underbrush  in  the  big  weedy  yard — and 
then  they'd  hear  something  give  a  kind  of 
strangling  scream,  and  he'd  be  wringing  some- 
thing's neck  like  a  chicken,  in  the  dark.  And 
they  kept  wondering  and  wondering,  and  so 
one  night — one  night  when  everybody  was 
27 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


asleep  and  the  wind  was  moaning  and  the  sky 
was  covered  with  a  thunder  cloud  — 


this  pointy  while  George  talks,  the  curtain 
descends  for  a  moment  to  indicate  the  lapse  of 
about  half  an  hour,  during  which  George  is  telling 
the  greater  part  of  his  story.  Upon  the  curtain  's 
rising  again  he  is  discovered  to  be  continuing^ 
speaking  more  dramatically  as  he  warms  toward 
his  climax?) 

GEORGE 

The  rapping  on  the  wall  was  always  the  same. 

Three  times.     Just  like  this.     (He  raps  upon 

the  table?)     Three  times.     Like  this.     Always 

just  three  times.     Like  this. 
A  GIRL'S  VOICE  (nervously) 

See  here!     I'm   beginning  not   to  like   this   a 

little  bit! 
GEORGE 

Listen,  will  you?    Can't  you  listen? 
A  YOUTH'S  VOICE: 

We  are  listening! 
A  GIRL'S  VOICE  (at  the  same  time) 

Go  on;  we're  listening. 

ANOTHER  VOICE 

What's  the  matter  with  you? 

TWO  OTHER  VOICES 

Why  don't  you  go  ahead? 

GEORGE 

Then  listen!    On  the  thirteenth  of  March,  ex- 
actly thirteen  years  after  the  night  the  old  man 
was   killed,   some   workmen   were   making   re- 
28 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


pairs  to  the  plumbing  in  that  rickety  old  house 
where  he  died.  Now,  these  workmen — 

A  GIRL'S  VOICE  (interrupting  nervously) 

George,  did  you  say  these  workmen  were 
plumbers? 

GEORGE  (rather  crossly) 
Yes,  they  were. 

A  YOUTH'S  VOICE 

Why,  they  had  to  be  plumbers,  didn't  they: 
He  said  they  were  doing  something  to  the 
plumbing.  How  could  they  help  being  plumbers 
if  they  were  there  on  account  of  the  plumbing? 

ANOTHER  VOICE  (impatiently) 

Well,  who  said  they  weren't?     Go  ahead. 

GEORGE  (rather  annoyed) 

It  was  an  old  plumber  and  a  young  plumber. 

A.NOTHER  VOICE 

Just  two  of  'em? 

GEORGE 

Listen!  These  two  plumbers  were  in  the  old 
house  all  alone — all  alone  in  that  empty  old 
house  where  the  murder — 

A  GIRL'S  VOICE  (again  interrupting  nervously) 
But  if  there  were  two  of  'em  how  could  either 
of  'em  have  been  all  alone?    I  don't— 

GEORGE  (impatiently) 

Listen,  will  you?  These  two  men  were  working 
at  the  bathtub  where  the  old  man's  body — I 
mean  his  remains — where  his  remains  had  been 
found  thirteen  years  before,  on  the  thirteenth 
of  March,  the  same  night  of  the  month  that 
they  were  working  there  now.  The  only  light 
these  two  plumbers  had  was  the  light  of  a 
29 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


lantern,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  big  old  house 
was  pitch  dark.  Then  all  at  once  these  two 
plumbers  heard  something  they  thought  was 
a  drop  of  water — just  one  drop  of  water  that 
seemed  to  drip  from  somewhere.  But  it  had 
a  queer  sort  of  sound,  and  they  didn't  like  it. 
"What  was  that?"  the  younger  one  asked  the 
older  one.  "It  sounded  like  a  drop  of  water 
falling — from  somewhere.  I  guess  it  was 
water,"  he  said.  Well,  the  older  one  looked 
around,  but  he  couldn't  see  anything.  "I  guess 
it's  probably  only  a  leak  in  the  roof,  maybe, 
and  a  drop  of  rain  came  through."  "Well,  but 
how  could  that  be?"  the  other  one  said.  "There 
hasn't  been  any  rain  for  a  month."  Then,  just 
as  they  were  talking,  they  heard  another  drop 
fall,  and  they  didn't  see  where  it  lit.  Then 
another  drop  fell,  and  it  made  a  kind  of  little 
sizzling  sound.  "What  makes  it  sound  like 
that?"  the  younger  one  wanted  to  know;  but 
the  older  one  said  he  couldn't  think  what  did. 
Then  there  was  another  drop — and  another — 
and  another — and  all  at  once  the  old  workman 
said,  "Look,  here!  What  makes  our  light  so 
red?"  Well,  the  young  one  jumped  right  up. 
"By  George!  I  was  just  noticing  that!"  he 
said.  "Our  light  has  been  getting  red!"  And 
so,  just  that  second  another  drop  fell,  and  made 
the  sort  of  sizzling  sound  they'd  noticed — and 
both  of  'em  jumped  round  and  looked  at  the 
lantern,  because  the  sound  came  from  there. 
"My  goodness!"  the  younger  one  said.  "Look 
at  that  lantern  chimney!"  The  drops  were 
30 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


falling  on  the  hot  lantern  chimney;  that's  what 
made  the  sizzling  sound.  And  what  made  the 
light  red  was  the  color  of  the  drops  that  were 
falling  on  it.  The  lantern  chimney  was  all  red 
with  what  had  been  falling  on  it! 

A  GIRL'S  VOICE  (protesting  nervously) 
Say! 

A  YOUTH'S  VOICE 

Hush  up!    Go  on  with  the  story. 

ANOTHER  GIRL'S  VOICE 

This  is  just  awful.  I  wish  you'd  turn  up  the 
light. 

ANOTHER  YOUTH'S  VOICE 

Go  on,  George. 

GEORGE 

Then,  just  as  another  drop  fell  on  the  lamp 
chimney,  the  two  plumbers  heard  a  louder 
sound,  and  it  made  the  flesh  creep  on  their 
spines,  because  it  sounded  like  a  long,  strangling 
kind  of  a  wail,  and  it  seemed  to  come  right 
from  the  floor — the  very  floor  they  were  stand- 
ing on;  it  came  from  right  under  their  feet— 

ANNA'S  VOICE  (protesting) 

I  can't  stand  this!     Honestly,  I  can't! 

A  YOUTH'S  VOICE 

Don't  be  so  silly,  Anna.  You  know  it's  only  a 
story. 

ANNA 

I  don't  care!  It's  too  awful.  I  wish  George'd 
stop! 

GEORGE 

Listen!     "What  on  earth  is  that?"  one  of  the 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


plumbers  said.    "I  never  heard  any  such  sound 
as  that  from  a  human  voice!" 
ANNA  (pleading  nervously) 
Please  stop,  George. 

GEORGE 

And  then  the  red  drops  on  the  lantern  chimney 
trickled  so  fast  they  got  to  be  almost  a  little 
stream,  so  the  red  light  got  dimmer  and  dimmer, 
and  then,  right  underneath  them,  down  in  the 
floor,  they  heard  that  long,  strangling  kind  of 
a  wail  again.  "Oo-oo-oo-oo-ow!"  it  said.  "Oo- 
oo-oo-ow-ow-ow — 

ANNA  (uttering  a  kind  of  a  wail  herself  in  her  ex- 
treme nervousness,  so  that  the  two  sounds  mingle) 
Oh-oo-oo-oo— 

ANOTHER  GIRL'S  VOICE 

My  goodness!     What  is  that? 
A  YOUTH'S  VOICE  (alarmed) 
See  here!     Who's  doing  that? 

GEORGE 

This  wailing  went  on:  "Oo-oo-oo-oo — 
ANNA  (screaming^  not  loudly,  but  with  convincing 

sincerity) 

Oh!    Oh!    Oh!    Oh!    (She  continues^ 
ANOTHER  GIRL'S  VOICE  (excitedly) 

What  is  all  this? 
A  YOUTH'S  VOICE 

See  here!     Who  is  doing  that? 

(Others  exclaim:  "My  goodness!"  "What's  the 
trouble  here?"  and  "Let's  cut  this  out!"  There 
are  sounds  of  confusion,  chairs  are  overturned, 
Anna  continues  to  vociferate,  "Oh!  Oh!  Oh! 
Oh!")  32 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE  (determined  to  reach  his  climax  ^  and  mak- 
ing himself  heard  in  spite  of  everything) 
"I'll  find  out  who's  doing  this  wailing,"  the  old 
plumber  said.  "It  sounds  to  me  like  a  cat!" 
And  he  took  his  ax  and  struck  right  into  the 
floor.  That  brought  the  most  awful  scream— 

(//  brings  subdued  screams  also  from  Anna  and 
Lennie.  Everyone  talks  at  once.} 

FLOYD  (commandingly) 

Stop  it,  George!    Turn  up  that  light!    Anna's 

got  hysterics! 
GEORGE  (shouting) 

I  got  to  finish  my  story,  haven't  I? 

ANOTHER  VOICE 

Turn  up  some  lights,  will  you? 

(A  key  button  is  pressed  and  the  stage  is  alight^ 
revealing  a  confused  group,  with  the  girls  gathered 
anxiously  about  Anna.  She  is  in  a  chair  near 
the  center  and  continues  to  be  rather  vociferously 
agitated?) 

ANNA 

Oh!     Oh!     Oh!     Oh!     (She  goes  on.) 

GRACE 

Where's  some  ammonia!  Who's  got  any  am- 
monia? 

FRED  (rushing  in  from  another  room  with  a  glass  of 
water) 
Here!     Dab  this  on  her  face! 

LENNIE 

Rub  her  hands!     Rub  her,  Floyd! 
33 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


(They  dab  water  upon  her  face  with  handker- 
chief s,  while  Floyd  and  Lynn  obediently  rub  her 
hands.) 

ANNA  (protesting,  but  continuing  to  be  hysterical) 
Don't!    Don't  splatter  me!    How  could  he  do 
it  with  an  ax,  George?    What  do  you  mean,  an 
ax — 

GEORGE 

I  said — 
ANNA  (wildly) 

You  said  the  plumber  hit  the  floor  with  an  ax! 

Where  would  a  plumber  get  an  ax?    Plumbers 

don't  have  axes! 
GEORGE 

Well,  this  one  did! 

ANNA 

Then  he  couldn't  have  been  a  plumber!  (Mary 
presses  a  wet  handkerchief  upon  her  lips;  Anna 
struggles.)  Stop  it,  Mary!  Don't  put  that 
handkerchief  in  my  mouth! 

MARY 

Yes,  dear;  it'll  do  you  good. 

ANNA 

It  won't!     Let  go  my  hands! 
GRACE 

No.     Keep  on  rubbing  'em! 

(They  do.) 

ANNA 

I  never  saw  a  plumber  with  an  ax.  Oh!  Oh! 
Oh! 

34 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


LENNIE  (sternly) 
Hush!    Hush!    You  must  hush! 

ANNA 

Oh!    Oh!    Oh! 

MARY 

We'd  better  call  her  mother. 
ANNA  (sharply) 

Don't  you  dare! 
GRACE 

Well,  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  her? 

ANNA 

I'll  be  all  right.    Just  let  me  alone.    Oh!    Oh! 
Oh! 

GEORGE 

That's  it.     We  ought  to  let  her  alone.     We 

ought  to  go  home  and  give  her  a  chance  to 

quiet  down.     She  never  will  if  we  all  stay  here 

and  keep  her  excited  like  this. 
LENNIE 

Well,  some  of  us  ought  to  stay.     The  rest  of 

you  go,  and  I'll  stay  with  her. 
GEORGE 

No.    You  go  with  the  rest,  and  I'll  stay  till  she 

gets  quiet. 
LENNIE 

You?     Why,    you're    the   one    that   gave    her 

hysterics ! 
GEORGE  (earnestly) 

Then  I  ought  to  be  the  one  to  cure  her. 

ANNA 

I'm— Oh!     Oh!     I'll  be  all  right  if  you'll  just 
leave  me  to  myself. 

35 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


MARY  (nervously) 

Let's  do  go!     This  room  gives  me  the  creeps 

after— 
CHORUS 

Let's  go!    Anna  wants  us  to.    We'd  better  let 

her  alone  a  while.    She  says  so  herself.    Come 

on! 

GEORGE 

I'll  stay  and — 

LENNIE  and  MARY  and  GRACE 
No,  you  won't! 

GEORGE 

Butl- 

LENNIE 

Why,  the  very  sight  of  your  face'd  make  her 

worse!    You  march  out  of  here! 
CHORUS  (moving  toward  the  hall  door  and  carrying 

George  with  them) 

You'll  be  all  right  pretty  soon,  Anna.     We'd 

better  do  as  she  says.    She'll  be  all  right. 
MARY  (returning  to  Anna) 

You're  sure  you  don't  want — 

ANNA 

No,  no,  no!  I'll  be  all  right  just  as  soon  as  I 
can  be  a  little  quiet  by  myself.  I  really  will. 
Good  night,  dear! 

CHORUS 

Good  night!  Good  night,  Anna!  See  you  to- 
morrow, Anna!  It's  a  shame  George  didn't 
have  more  sense!  George  never  did  have  a 
grain  of  intelligence!  Goodnight!  Goodnight! 

GEORGE  (turning  back) 
Anna,  I'll— 

36 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


MARY  and  LENNIE 

No,  you  won't.     Let  her  alone. 

(They  seize  his  arms  and  propel  him  out  into  the 
hall.  The  door  is  closed,  leaving  Anna  alone.  It 
is  immediately  opened  again  by  George ',  returning^ 

GEORGE 

Anna,  I  want  to  say — 

(Lennie,  Grace,  Mary,  Fred,  Tom,  Floyd,  and 
Lynn  instantly  seize  him  and  carry  him  back  into 
the  hall.) 

CHORUS 

You  come  back  here!  Haven't  you  got  any 
sense?  George,  you  ought  to  be  hanged! 
Bring  him  along,  the  idiot! 

(They  again  close  the  door,  and  for  some  mo- 
ments, as  they  put  on  their  outer  wraps,  the 
sound  of  their  voices  in  extremely  unfavorable 
comment  upon  George  continues  to  be  heard. 
Then  the  talk  grows  fainter  as  they  move  away  in 
the  hall.  The  outer  door  is  heard  to  close,  and 
there  is  silence.  Anna  at  once  rises  calmly ',  her 
agitation  entirely  vanished.  She  goes  to  the  hall 
door,  looks  out,  then  closes  the  door  and  goes 
thoughtfully  to  the  fire.  She  seems  to  wait.  Then, 
as  though  abandoning  an  idea,  she  shrugs  her 
shoulders.) 

ANNA 

Oh,  well! 

(Humming  a  tune,  she  goes  to  the  piano.     But 
she  does  not  sit.     Standing,  she  touches  a  chord 
37 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


thoughtfully;  then  shrugs  her  shoulders  again, 
goes  to  a  table,  picks  up  the  leather-bound  book 
she  had  pretended  to  read  at  the  opening  of  the 
play  and,  sighing,  walks  gloomily  to  the  door  and 
opens  it,  about  to  leave  the  room.  However,  she 
pauses,  listening.  A  sound  has  reached  her  ears 
from  a  window  across  the  room.  The  curtains 
are  drawn,  but  there  is  a  tapping  upon  the  win- 
dow pane.  The  taps  come  in  sets  of  three,  well 
defined.  She  smiles  suddenly,  a  very  bright 
smiled) 

ANNA 

Oh,  it's  a  ghost.  (She  becomes  serious  and  re- 
turns into  the  room.)  Is  it  the  ghost  of  the  old 
cat  murderer?  (The  tappings  continue  steadily. 
She  goes  to  the  window,  pulls  back  the  curtains, 
and  reveals  a  frosty  glass,  behind  which  is  a 
masculine  figure.  She  interrogates  it.)  Is  it  the 
ghost  ? 

(The  tappings  become  more  emphatic;  she  opens 
the  window,  and  George  is  seen,  light  snow  on 
his  hat  and  shoulders?) 

GEORGE  (huskily) 
Anna— 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 

GEORGE 

Are  you  better? 

ANNA 

Yes,  George. 

38 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE 

I  sneaked  away  from  'em.  I  thought  it  might 
be  best  to  keep  away  from  the  front  door  if 
any  of  'em  were  looking.  Besides,  I  was 
afraid  they  might  follow  me  back.  Can  I 
come  in? 

ANNA 

Yes,  George. 

(He  shakes  off  the  snow  and  climbs  in.) 

GEORGE 

Why,  you  look  all  right.    Are  you? 

ANNA  (gently) 
Yes,  George. 

GEORGE 

I  just  had  to  tell  you;  I  never  dreamed  of 
frightening  you.  I  thought — well,  what  I 
thought  was  maybe  I  could  make  that  story 
so  awful  they'd  get  scared  and  go  home.  But 
I  see  I  was  wrong;  the  more  scared  they'd  get, 
why,  the  less  they'd  want  to  leave.  I  was 
doing  exactly  the  wrong  thing  to  make  'em  go! 

ANNA  (smiling) 
Yes,  George. 

GEORGE 

And  the  only  one  I  really  frightened  was  you! 
That  is,  unless — unless — well,  I  wondered — 
You  see,  I  know  the  tones  of  your  voice  pretty 
well — and — and— 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 

39 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


GEORGE 

I    wondered — Anna,    did    you    pretend    to    be 

scared  hysterical  ? 
ANNA  (laughing faintly) 

Yes,  George. 
GEORGE 

And  that's  why  they  went!     Anna,  did  you 

want  'em  to  go? 
ANNA  (looking  away) 

Yes,  George. 
GEORGE  (looking  at  his  watch  and  the  clock) 

I've  only  got — Anna,  I've  only  got  about  (he 

swallows) — well,  it's  a  pretty  short  time.  Can 
j 

ANNA 

Yes,  George. 
(She  sits.) 

GEORGE  (taking  off  his  overcoat) 

Thanks!  (He  puts  the  coat  and  his  hat  on  a 
chair.)  Anna,  I — well,  there's  something  I 
wanted  to  say  to  you.  I've  wanted  to  say  it 
ever  since  the  day  you  wore  a  blue  dress.  This 
thing  I  want  to  say  to  you — well,  I'm  afraid 
you'll  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  what  it  is— 

ANNA  (biting  her  lip) 
Yes,  George? 

GEORGE  (with  increasing  nervousness) 

Yes,  I'm  afraid  you  will.  And  I'm — well,  I'm 
terribly  afraid  you — I'm  afraid  you  won't  like 
it.  Of  course  I — I  know  I'm  not  worthy  to 
say  it  to  you,  and  if  you  don't  like  it — and  I'm 
almost  sure  you  won't — well,  if  you  don't,  I — 
40 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


(he  swallows  again) — I'll  just  have  to  stand  it 

somehow,  I  guess!    Well  (he  looks  at  the  clock) 

—I've  hardly  got  time  to  say  it — 
ANNA  (frowning) 

Yes,  George? 
GEORGE 

I    don't    know    what    you'll    say! 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 

(His  attention  seems  to  be  caught  uneasily?) 

GEORGE 

Anna,  what's  the  matter?  You  just  say  the 
same  thing  over  and  over. 

ANNA 

Yes,  George. 
GEORGE  (bewildered) 

I  don't  understand.  You  see  I  came  here  to- 
night— to — to — to  say  to  you  that  I — to  ask 
you — to  ask  you — 

ANNA 

Yes,  George? 

GEORGE 

I — I — I  told  you  about  what  my  father  said 
to  me — how  I'd  have  a  share  in  the  business 
after  commencement.  So  I  felt  justified  in — 
in — in — 

ANNA  (with  some  emphasis) 
Yes,  George? 

GEORGE 

And  so  I — I — I  want  to  ask  you — to  ask — to 
ask  you — 

41 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


ANNA  (whispering  it  shyly) 
Yes,  George? 

GEORGE  (swallowing) 

To  ask  you — could  you — could  you — Anna, 
could  you,  could  you —  (He  approaches  her, 
his  voice  growing  louder  in  his  nervousness.) 
Anna,  could  you,  could  you — could  you — 

(At  this  instant  the  heads  of  Lennie,  Mary,  Grace. 
Floyd,  Tom,  Lynn,  and  Fred,  who  have  been 
crouching  outside  below  the  sill,  suddenly  appear 
in  the  window) 

LENNIE,    MARY,    GRACE,     FLOYD,    TOM,     LYNN,     and 

FRED  (all  together) 
Yes,  George! 

(Anna  rushes  upon  the  window,  closes  it,  and 
pulls  the  curtains  across  it) 

GEORGE  (astounded) 

Why,  what  do  they  mean?  They  don't  mean  I 
— they  don't  mean  you— 

(Anna  forms  the  words  "Yes,  George"  with  her 
lips,  then  looks  shyly  down) 

GEORGE 

Oh!     (He  swallows)     Oh! 
•(His  expression,  which  has  been  one  of  great 
anxiety,  alters  to  a  widening  smile 
as  the  curtain  falls) 

(4) 


